By William Anderson
THERE ARE SO MANY MEMORIES THAT CAN be shared about CCPJ’s 25-year history. I remember the embryonic stage of that history when members of the Interfaith Peace Coalition got the idea
that we should have a peace center that did not have a religious connection. The idea quickly caught on and made sense to a lot of people. It was agreed that some kind of center could help to avoid schedule conflicts and help groups to know about each other’s peace-making efforts. It was agreed that a peace center might facilitate the efforts of peace and justice people in supporting each other, participating in events, working in coalitions and advancing causes of mutual concern.
As the idea caught on, an
opportunity came to sponsor
a benefit showing of the new
movie “Gandhi.” Community
enthusiasm swelled. Members
of the Indian community (in
Charlottesville and at the Uni-
versity) served refreshments
and there was an excellent turn
out. The proceeds went toward
establishing The Charlottesville
Peace Center. Our Articles of
Incorporation were approved
on January 31, 1983, and we
received non-profit status a
short time later.
The good folks at Westminster Presbyterian Church
gave us a room in the Prism Coffee House building,
and it served for many years as the office and physical
location of the Peace Center. I remember how proud
I was to live in a small town that had its own Peace
Center with paid staff and phone. We even held meet-
ings there. Eventually, the name of the Peace Center
evolved to what it is now: The Charlottesville Center
for Peace and Justice. With the end of the cold war,
reduced contributions made it necessary to vacate
our office and discontinue having paid staff. CCPJ be-
came an all-volunteer organization. The silver lining
was that our volunteers were then able to put all of
their energies into peace-making activities instead of
toward raising funds to cover staff salary. The orga-
nization has spearheaded and sponsored many sig-
nificant programs over the years. I suppose different
folks have their own thoughts about what has been
most important, but here I will share a few of my
memories about CCPJ:
• I have fond memories of CCPJ people. I especially
cherish the blessed memory of Mary and Otis Updike.
Their unrelenting efforts and many generous contri-
butions cannot be listed in this small space, but I es-
pecially remember how they often hosted gatherings
in their home. One especially memorable example
was the reception they hosted when the Second Secre-
tary of the Soviet embassy in Washington came at our
invitation to speak
at the UVA Law
School. (Mr. Chur-
kin is now the Rus-
sian ambassador to
the United Nations.)
And then there was
Frances Brand (re-
membered by many
as the little old lady
that always wore
purple). She walked
everywhere, was
passionate about ra-
cial reconciliation,
and worked hard
to foster friendship
between people of
different cultures. I
remember the time
when a group of us
went to New York
in 1982 for the big
June 12 March sup-
porting a nuclear freeze. Despite her advanced years,
Frances Brand walked the entire route of the march
and after doing so, she walked all the way back across
the Brooklyn Bridge to the house where a good num-
ber of the Charlottesville contingent was staying. A
short time later, Frances Brand was one of the first to
travel down to Nicaragua to stand on that country’s
border near the town of Jalapa in protest of Contra vi-
olence. This was the vanguard of the movement that
came to be known as “Witness for Peace.”
• I remember many Peace Center potlucks, programs
and campaigns. I remember efforts to freeze the levels
of nuclear arms and to advance Nuclear Disarmament,
protests against Star Wars, protests against the kill-
ing in Kosovo, coalition work with the Charlottesville
Latin American Solidarity Committee (CLASC), Vir-
ginians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (VADP),
The Virginia Organizing Project (VOP), and many
other allies in the work for peace and justice.
• I fondly remember our numerous rallies and dem-
onstrations, and the many times that CCPJ organized
car caravans and got bus loads of people to travel to
DC and participate in various events and protests.
• I remember the big surge of participation in CCPJ
that took place after the events surrounding 9/11. I
gratefully recall the infusion of new people with new
ideas and increased energy. I remember the forma-
tion of the CCPJ tabling committee, and the begin-
ning of the wonderful CCPJ Salons.
• I remember how proud we were when we devel-
oped our own CCPJ website.
• I remember articles and advertisements in the lo-
cal media and the times that CCPJ folks have gone
before City Council and to the offices of our represen-
tatives in the General Assembly and Congress.
• I remember when CCPJ started participating in
the Dogwood Parade. I remember the numerous si-
lent candle light vigils, and the not-so-silent marches
and rallies attended by hundreds of people in protest
against war and injustice.
During its 25 years of existence CCPJ has been an effective voice for Peace and Justice and it has made significant impact on the lives of people here in Charlottesville. I hope that it will continue going strong and that it will always play a vital role in the struggle against violence, war, and injustice in our world.
William Anderson is the President of CCPJ.